The invention relates to a method and a centering assembly for centering a tire component, in particular a breaker ply, with respect to a drum.
A method for centering a tire component with respect to a belt construction drum is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,994,140 B2, in which a belt construction band is fed from a first conveyor towards a second conveyor until a first sensor between the two conveyors detects a side edge at the front tip of the belt construction band. The first of the two conveyors is moved laterally until an actual position of side edge corresponds to a desired position for said side edge on the belt construction drum. The belt construction band is subsequently moved onto the second conveyor while continuously aligning the side edge. At this moment, the actual width of the main part of the belt construction band is still unknown. During the movement of the belt construction band from the first conveyor onto the second conveyor, the opposite side edge is detected by a second sensor for determining the actual width of belt construction band. Now, the actual width can be detected. From the detected width, in accordance with a detected deviation of a desired center position from the measured or actual position of the width center, the first conveyor is again moved until the actual position of the width center corresponds to the desired center position of the belt construction band at the belt construction drum.
However, when the actual width of the belt construction band is greater or smaller than expected, the side edge of the front tip has already been aligned along a desired position for said side edge along an expected width, while the actual width requires a different desired position of the side edge. The front tip is already in adhesive friction with the second conveyor. The subsequent centering of the main part in a desired center position thus causes a considerable shift in the main part directly after the front tip, which significantly reduces the quality of the alignment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and a centering assembly for centering a tire component, in particular a breaker ply, with respect to a drum, wherein the alignment or centering of the tire component with respect to the drum can be improved.